Gondola display fixtures and the like are widely used in retail sales as fixtures which can be adjusted to retain a variety of display components such as hooks, shelves, etc., thereby providing a flexible display environment. Flexibility provided by such display fixtures is important where maximizing shelf space is a much desired goal in retailing, to offer a customer the most choices in a limited space.
Gondola display fixtures have standard features such as a base which extends outwardly from the front of the fixture, vertical posts which rise up from the base and a pegboard between the vertical posts. The vertical posts are generally made of steel, are uniformly spaced 48" apart at the outer edges and have vertical slots in the faces to accept mounting brackets.
However, there some 30 or more manufacturers of gondola display fixtures producing fixtures having, inter alia, vertical posts of a varied array of material specifications and slots.
More prominent examples of gondola display fixtures are those manufactured by LOZIER, SCHULTZ, MADIX, HANDY, CHILDS and STREATER, to name a few. Variations in the different manufacturers posts include the width and height of the slots, the vertical distance between adjacent slots, the lateral distance between corresponding slots on opposed vertical posts, i.e. placement of the slots on the outer, middle, or inner portion of the face of the vertical posts, and the thickness of the metal used to form the vertical posts.
As such, a product promoter with a heavy or unique display component would either have to mount the component on a standard holder, i.e., shelf or hooks, having been made specifically for the particular display fixture, or make available an inventory of distinct brackets to accommodate the different display fixtures.
One attempt by applicants to adapt a component to display fixtures of different manufacturers included making an inventory of different brackets needed for the particular display fixtures available. The stores were provided with a template as shown in FIG. 1 to match up with the slots of the particular display fixture they used to determine the manufacturer of the fixture and, hence, the bracket needed. Once determined, the proper brackets would be shipped corresponding to the display fixture being used by the store.
This, however, has not been found to be entirely satisfactory where an inventory of at least 12 different brackets was being kept and the customer had to receive and use a template to determine and order the specific bracket needed. Obviously, the process was expensive, time consuming, and subject to human error.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a universal display mount which can be used with most if not all of the gondola display fixtures currently being used by retailers.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a mount which can be used to mount a variety of display components, i.e., shelves, hooks, brackets, promotional devices, etc.
Another object is to provide a universal mount which will avoid the use of the relatively weak pegboard so that heavy display components and articles can be mounted.